These are related to 'bitter gourd', but not bitter at all. I just made a stir fry, after slicing them and removing the seeds, mixing with a little oil, salt, turmeric powder and chilli powder. Excellent!!

Sounds so good... I love bitter gourd! I haven't been successful growing them yet though, but there is an Asian grocery about 100miles away from me where I pick them up sometimes. Actually, I don't find bitter gourd all that bitter either. Maybe it's just the ones I'm eating. They have a nice texture that is not slimy when cooked, a bright mild flavor, and take on the flavor of whatever sauce/seasoning you add so well!

LP, if you like bitter gourd, you will love these even better. They are more crunchier than bitter gourd. If you would like I can send you seeds at the end of winter there. When it becomes warm the seeds will sprout and grow into vines and fruit in three months. I also have another species, M.sahyadrica, the photo of which I will post soon.

From 1940s till mid 1950s M.dioica was available from only the harvested ones from the forest and wooded areas during rainy season and not cultivated in the ghats and plains of the Kanara districts. Barely a few sects consumed then. The propagation is through seeds by the wild life / birds and mammals. Once the seeds germinate the strong root system helps to spring back to vines in the each rainy seasons. These wild raw fruits are tastier than the nowadays cultivated ones. What was it called in Kerala before 1960s?

M.dioica was never available in Kerala in the wild. Only M.sahyadrica is available. M.dioica is cultivated by a few people in Kerala. For that matter I doubt M.dioica is available in Kanara, but M.sahyadrica is. M.dioica is found in Maharastra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, etc.